Chapter 8 Part 1 of 3 (Patreon)

“Looks like that is the last of them,” Markus said.

“Damn crazy beasts,” Louis muttered, looking up at the mana lights above.  I wonder how many of there are hiding up there. This is their third attack.

“Ship spotted!”

The bridge shifted to look in the direction of the spotter.

“Markings of the Farelli Family, they are going in another direction.”

“Make sure to keep an eye on them, make not aggressive maneuvers. Keep your eyes open for other airships.” Markus said.

The bridge settled down.

“This place is massive, nearly a hundred airships in here and we’ve only spotted three,” Markus said.

“Yeah,” Louis leaned forward on his armrests, resting his chin on his clasped hands.

“Ship spotted, it looks like the Amazone!”

Louis felt his stomach shift and drop, he rubbed his hands to regain some warmth, a cold sweat down his back.

“Good job I’ll contact Captain Kline Adamus myself.” Louis activated his sound cancelling formation and sound transmission device.

“Captain Gerrard.”

“Kline, how are things on your side?”

“I have secured my ship, only loyal crew remain. Yourself?”

“I am sending them the order now. When we meet we’ll be free from the Marshal’s control.”

“Yes sir.”

Louis closed the sound transmission channel. He pulled out a device from his storage ring, a small formation the size of a pocket watch.

For freedom, for the Sha Clans future.

He pushed the formation together with a metallic click. It flashed with light and then dissipated. He forced himself to not touch the white and blue flower broach that vibrated.

Louis stood up catching the eye of his cousin, a guard standing behind his chair, tapping his chest, a blue and white flower held by a broach.

“Markus, Kline had some new details for us, if you’d join me in the meeting room?”

“Ah, certainly,” Samara, you have command.”

“Yes sir.”

Louis walked ahead of Markus into the meeting room.

The door closed and a sound cancelling formation closed them off from the rest of the ship. Already across the ship my people will be moving to subdue the loyalists. By the time we step out it should be complete. Louis sighed, gripping the back of a chair with both of his hands.

“You okay Louis?”

Louis just let out a dry laugh and shook his head, looking at one of his closest friends.

He touched his broach.

“I didn’t think you were the sentimental type, flower broaches for good luck,” Markus grinned. “Wish we had more, I think I would have looked pretty good with one.”

“Oh how I wish I could give you one.” Louis’ words were heavy.

“Louis, what do you mean?”

“There is nothing new from Kline, this is a coup Markus.”

“Wait, what?”

Louis gripped the chair tighter, but he didn’t feel it.

“Right now those that seek to better the future of the Sha Clans are rising up within the Violet Sky Fleet.”

“What have you done Louis?” Markus stood up, his chair falling to the floor.

“I did what I had to,” Louis looked at Markus. “The Marshal is an egotistical Tyrant, he dictates what we should do and when we should do it, he keeps that clans separate so that he can play us against one another and weakend one another to maintain his power over us all. This time we will not let him divide us, we will unite and drive him out, we will take the power of the Sha Clans and forge it into one, we will be one clan instead of many!”

“Louis, what you’re talking about, it will lead to death! It will mean civil war within the clans. You might win here, but what about when you return to Purkesh?”

“Others are taking care of that. I left behind orders, Milo Leblanc with the support of the Velten and Gerrard Clans will rise to the position of Marshal.”

“A puppet! The Velten’s are foxes! They will turn on you if they can profit!”

“Markus it is done! There is nothing that can be done, several other clans will stand with us.”

“You will lose the guns and powder from the crafters! This is doomed Louis!”

“The crafters have been caged for too long, they stand with us.”

“You will break the Sha, you will tear out its heart.”

“If the Sha’s heart is the Marshal then we must cut it out and its pollution, it is only then that the body can be whole!” Louis yelled.

“He binds us together, yes he controls all of the Sha, but he is the source of our strength, without him our clans would not be what they are.”

“The past is the past, we cannot let it create our future blindly Markus!”

Markus shook his head, his face devoid of color, drawing his sword.

“Markus I will need an answer, where do you stand?” Gerrard demanded.

“And if I say I stand on the side of a man trying to do his best to hold us together. A man you call tyrant and I call a poor soul, what would you have done with me? Would you kill me?”

Louis ground his teeth, smacking the chair before resting his hand on his sword.

“Can you not see it Markus, there is no future with him!”

“How can you know when you do not reach out to talk to him? How many times have you held your words instead of talking to him? How many plans have you made without asking others? Did you create this plan asking everyone in your clan their thoughts or did you decide for them? How is that different from him?”

“He is a tyrant, anything that goes against him he dismisses, he allows no one to advise him, he only listens to his team mates, all strangers that do not have a clan!”

“He might not make the best decisions but you know that he is making the best ones that he can. I fight for the Sha, I fight for Marshal, for this will tear apart the clans.”

“Milo is the rightful heir!”

“Milo? Do you hear yourself? That little brat? The Marshal raised him a nephew even if they do not share blood, as he did with Esther when his father died then Milo turned on the Marshal blaming him for his father’s death.”

“His father died from a Sha weapon,” Louis’ words stopped Markus cold. “This I swear.”

“You think that the Marshal killed a man he called brother? How many times has he dueled people honorably?”

“It was a Sha weapon and Edmond took that opportunity to take control over the clans, there was no one that could ask him to step to the side, he was the one and only Marshal.”

“Where are your facts, where is the weapon?”

“The details are clear. Markus, stand beside me, join me, join my clan officially, do me the honor of taking up the name Gerrard.”

Markus raised his sword in salute.

“I would have been honored, but I cannot pledge myself to one while betraying another.”

The door to the room opened.

Louis turned to see his guard walk in, he opened his mouth, seeing Markus he fired his pistol.

Markus who attempted to charge the man was thrown backwards and dropped on the floor.

“No!” Louis ran around the table, Markus’ expression was pinched together as the guard kicked his sword away, a second pistol pointed at his head.

A bloody stain spread across Markus’ undershirt.

He was opening and closing his mouth.

“Oh fuck.”

He coughed as Louis picked him up off of the floor.

Louis used his leg to support him, his hand coming away with blood, staining the carpet.

“You stubborn bastard, what were you trying to do.”

He took out healing potions and poured them on Markus’ wounds.

“Ah, shit,” Markus coughed again, blood staining his teeth.

“Not nearly as stubborn as you.” He gripped Louis’ arm, looking into his eyes. “Don’t lose yourself to the blood, don’t confuse,” He coughed again, his wound was too bad to be healed by Louis’ potions. “confuse killing as righteousness. The Marshal didn’t kill others for having different opinions. If he did, would there be a clan left?”

Markus’s grip weakend and his expressions slackened, troubled even as his tombstone appeared.

Louis held his second in command, his closest friend and godfather to his children, he closed his eyes, wiping Markus’ blood on his face.

“You stubborn fool.” He bowed his head, he sucked in a breath through his nose, gagging on the coppery tang of blood.

He raised his head, gently laying Markus on the floor.

“Clean his tombstone,” Louis’  voice was rough as he exited the room, passing two of his guards, they bowed their heads, moving towards Markus when he left.

Louis stepped forward to his command chair, several people sporting bruises were bound and escorted away from the bridge. They’d been gagged as others came in and took their places.

“Sir,” Samara, handed him a wet towel, her voice tight as her eyes flitted to the meeting room and back out over the bridge, unshed tears filling her eyes.

Louis looked at his hands, staining the white towel red.

He rubbed the blood from his hands, it was already drying on his legs and his shirt a clean spell released red flakes from his clothes.

He scrubbed his face with the towel, hiding hid tear filled eyes-removing the last traces of Markus’ breath. Louis stored the towel.

He saw bloodstains on various stations on hid bridge, he knew them each by name, knew their families.

There is no going back. The Marshal did this. With his lies and his tyranny he blinded many. He clung to anger like a life-line as Markus’ words stayed with him. ‘The Marshal didn’t kill others for having different opinions’.

“I want a report from each department as soon as possible. We have only a few hours until we meet up with Le Glaive. Prepare all boarding parties.”

***